Pogba and United have been revitalised under Solskjaer. (Paul Ellis / AFP)Source:AFP

At last! A Manchester United-Liverpool clash to look forward to. Forget your Uniteds-Citys, Liverpools-Evertons — THIS is the biggest game in English football. And Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it that way again.

United’s resurrection under their new coach is exactly what Liverpool fans didn’t want, and it has come at precisely the wrong time. With the Premiership race delicately poised and Manchester City looking like a giant snowball rolling downhill towards another title, Liverpool cannot afford to give up their slim three-point advantage over the champions. To do so now would mean effectively opening the door for Pep Guardiola’s thundering avalanche to crash through Anfield’s dreams once more.

This week’s free-to-air game is Leicester v Crystal Palace, live on SBS from 1.30am AEST Sunday 24 February. Manchester United v Liverpool kicks off at 1.30am Monday morning.

The pressure is on Liverpool, the terrible noise behind them is that dreadful bowling sky blue ball of money, goals with Sergio Aguero’s lethal legs sticking out like a chariot-wheel spike.

Don’t let it slip, is the cry from Anfield as Jurgen Klopp’s team scamper to stay in front. And now they face their greatest rivals, gleefully waiting to stick out a boot and trip them up.

How things have changed. This clash should always be one of the spikiest and tensest games of the season. But the dark reign of Jose Mourinho saw the end of adventure at Old Trafford. Particularly when Liverpool came to visit, the fallback position became do not lose this one.

Mourinho did not dare risk losing to United’s, and arguably his own, nemesis. And the passion was sucked out of this most vehemently passionate game of all English football.

United have been revitalised by Solskjaer’s approach. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

Earlier in the season, it was Liverpool who put the final nail in Mourinho’s coffin, with a 3-1 win over a limp United at Anfield. Now Klopp’s team head to Manchester facing a very different United in a very different Old Trafford.

United are unbeaten in the league since Solskjaer took charge — nine games, 23 goals scored, only dropping points in the draw with Burnley. Win this weekend and the Norwegian would set a Premier League record for the most points picked up by a manager in their first 10 matches in the competition.

Solskjaer understands what makes Old Trafford tick and saw what Jose Mourinho could not — that Manchester United players should be arrogant and autonomous, and encouraged to attack.

Central to this is the resurgence of Paul Pogba. A $162 million misfit under Mourinho, Pogba has been encouraged and indulged by Solskjaer, building a team around the Frenchman’s athletic gifts, using Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera as a platform to perform, encouraging him to drift to the left to create space and make goals — and the reward has been obvious. In the 12 league games since the change of manager, Pogba has scored eight goals and made five assist. United’s new attacking style flows through Pogba — but there is a way to dam that torrent.

In the Champions League, Pogba was man-marked, outmuscled and frustrated to the point of a red card by PSG’s Marquinhos. He was back to his best again in the FA Cup, when Chelsea afforded him the space to control the game (another goal, another assist) but things should be different against Liverpool.

The Reds will have the colossal Virgil van Dijk back in defence after missing the midweek clash with Bayern Munich through suspension, which means Klopp’s own Brazilian midfielder Fabinho will be available to give Pogba some special attention. Whether he will do it to the same degree or as successfully as Marquinhos remains to be seen but Liverpool’s engine room, likely to feature irrepressible Georgio Wijnaldum and steady-as-porridge Jordan Henderson will make time and space far less available to Pogba.

There remains some concern over Liverpool’s recent form, with draws against Leicester and West Ham following the defeat to City. Even though they have a three-point advantage at the top of the league are in the Champions League knockout stages, there remains a sense that Klopp’s team are somehow a little out of alignment.

This is a huge test of Jurgen Klopp’s team. (Oli Scarff / AFP)Source:AFP

All of which just adds to the drama and anticipation for this weekend. United on fire with nothing to lose, Liverpool wobbling with everything on the line. How sweet victory would be for either side; to ruin your rivals’ dreams or to show a badge of new authority and galvanise a title charge. Three points either way would swing the title race momentum. And Liverpool need that more than United right now — but can they own the biggest game of the season?

The atmosphere at Old Trafford will akin to the surface of the sun and it could very easily spill onto the pitch. After years of prosaic frustration under Mourinho, Solskjaer’s willingness to let his players play to score goals means Manchester United v Liverpool will finally be a battle again.